{DIARY OF AN ITINERANT CHEF}

Taboo Food

I ate a bug today – a silkworm. I'd almost forgotten all about it – must have tried to block it out. I never thought I'd pass that food frontier – and I've eaten some funky foods. Hey, Chinese girl, living in Paris – il faut. Even Julia Child couldn't out-Fear Factor me – trying to one up me on organ meats – livers, kidneys, hearts, sweetbreads – love the stuff Ms. Child. Oh yeah – she saw the crazy light in my eye – chicken feet, fish eyeballs – so she backed down – even admitted she'd never eaten cow udder. My kind of woman – pushing 100 and could still freaky out eat the Jackass boys.

The bug. I forgot about the bug.

Long day. Grace got home just before they blocked traffic for good ol' President Hu. Don't think they did that for Bush. Chirac made him Metro it – Grace said not even a Carte Orange – made him use the little purple tickets.

Carol wasn't so lucky – she got out of the Academy too late – she's a Make Up For Ever instructor – giving Grace lessons. And today's lesson – ultra red lips for professional photography. She had to walk an hour around the Champs-Elysees blockade – damning French greed with every high-heeled step.

The bug. Grace said she wasn’t so hungry after the lesson. Rifled through the pantry – happy she found her silkworms.

Uh OK.

They come in a can – but she says she's going to take me to the good silkworm snack guys on the street – deep-fried, really crispy, piled high in a paper cone.

But then I saw them – and they look just like bugs! Really bad bugs! I can't even bring myself say it – c-c-c – I can't – but without the legs thank God – thank Buddha. They're about the size of a short, fat thumb – without the thumbnail – brown, ribbed shells.

So she opens the can – convenient pull-tab can – pours them in a bowl – brown liquid sauce and all – covers it in plastic, and pops them in the microwave. How convenient!

She gets out a spoon – few seconds later sits down really pleased. Spoons one out for me – want one? Sure. OK. At least there are no legs.

In the mouth – chew fast. Kind of smoky and musty – in a light soy sauce – like a shrimp in shell – very meaty – the meatiness is what Grace likes best about them. Not that bad.

Grace is the only one in the world who could have talked me into eating bugs – not that she did – I did it voluntarily – her palate's so good that if she likes it, then I'll try it.

Later I made huge, creamy lardon and spinach omelettes for dinner – with a lot of ketchup and Tabasco on the side – couldn't make them fast enough.

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Taboo Food

I ate a bug today – a silkworm. I'd almost forgotten all about it – must have tried to block it out. I never thought I'd pass that food frontier – and I've eaten some funky foods. Hey, Chinese girl, living in Paris – il faut. Even Julia Child couldn't out-Fear Factor me – trying to one up me on organ meats – livers, kidneys, hearts, sweetbreads – love the stuff Ms. Child. Oh yeah – she saw the crazy light in my eye – chicken feet, fish eyeballs – so she backed down – even admitted she'd never eaten cow udder. My kind of woman – pushing 100 and could still freaky out eat the Jackass boys.

The bug. I forgot about the bug.

Long day. Grace got home just before they blocked traffic for good ol' President Hu. Don't think they did that for Bush. Chirac made him Metro it – Grace said not even a Carte Orange – made him use the little purple tickets.

Carol wasn't so lucky – she got out of the Academy too late – she's a Make Up For Ever instructor – giving Grace lessons. And today's lesson – ultra red lips for professional photography. She had to walk an hour around the Champs-Elysees blockade – damning French greed with every high-heeled step.

The bug. Grace said she wasn’t so hungry after the lesson. Rifled through the pantry – happy she found her silkworms.

Uh OK.

They come in a can – but she says she's going to take me to the good silkworm snack guys on the street – deep-fried, really crispy, piled high in a paper cone.

But then I saw them – and they look just like bugs! Really bad bugs! I can't even bring myself say it – c-c-c – I can't – but without the legs thank God – thank Buddha. They're about the size of a short, fat thumb – without the thumbnail – brown, ribbed shells.

So she opens the can – convenient pull-tab can – pours them in a bowl – brown liquid sauce and all – covers it in plastic, and pops them in the microwave. How convenient!

She gets out a spoon – few seconds later sits down really pleased. Spoons one out for me – want one? Sure. OK. At least there are no legs.

In the mouth – chew fast. Kind of smoky and musty – in a light soy sauce – like a shrimp in shell – very meaty – the meatiness is what Grace likes best about them. Not that bad.

Grace is the only one in the world who could have talked me into eating bugs – not that she did – I did it voluntarily – her palate's so good that if she likes it, then I'll try it.

Later I made huge, creamy lardon and spinach omelettes for dinner – with a lot of ketchup and Tabasco on the side – couldn't make them fast enough.